A Parkland student filled his clear backpack with tampons to make an important point about period discrimination

In the wake of the devastating school shooting in Parkland, Florida on February 14th, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School must now wear clear backpacks. The new regulation is supposed to help prevent students from bringing weapons to school.

And though heightened school security measures aren’t inherently a bad thing, forcing Parkland students to wear clear backpacks is not the change needed to prevent more gun violence. Many students have noted that the backpacks feel like a weak bandage at best and an invasion of privacy at worst.

Students at the school, who are also now required to wear new ID badges at all times, have been voicing their opinions about the new policies on social media since returning from spring break on Monday, April 2nd. And one student, Cameron Kasky, filled his backpack with tampons in an effort to shine light on the fact that feminine hygiene products are still inaccessible to many women.

He snapped a selfie to show off his clear backpack, which is now going viral.

#MSDStrong pic.twitter.com/kKn1saUDTC

— Cam Kasky (@cameron_kasky) April 3, 2018

Kasky, who co-founded the March for Our Lives alongside his fellow students, followed up his selfie with a message about how challenging and expensive it is for many women to access the products they need, and we are cheering.

To those with questions about my tampon backpack-

I only got lights. I didn’t know. Getting supers for tomorrow.

Sizes, pricing… I’m learning new things about women’s health right now. This stuff is expensive. Steps must be taken to make these health products easier to access

— Cam Kasky (@cameron_kasky) April 3, 2018

Aside from all the incredible work Kasky has done to help end gun violence in schools, using his new clear backpack to help end period discrimination is awe-inspiring.

And though several states (including Florida) are working to pass laws removing the tampon tax, which taxes feminine hygiene products as “luxury goods” instead of the necessary products they are for many women, we still have a long way to go.

Bravo to Kasky and all the Parkland students for continuing to inspire us every day with their courage and tireless advocacy. We feel so hopeful when we see young people like Kasky working for a better tomorrow.